Abram (meaning father of nations) embraced monotheism that unified his mission spiritually and practically. On arrival in the parched land God promised, he saw foreign invaders. When he visited his oldest living descendant, Noah’s son Shem or Melchizedek[1] he received detailed knowledge of his heritage and culture. But, he did not stay in the land, he traveled further south to Egypt where he claimed territorial rights from Shem’s brother, Egypt’s first pharaoh Khem/Cham or Ham. Ham’s daughter Hagar was provided to Abram as pharaoh’s collateral, an acknowledgment of Shem’s superior claim. On Abram’s return to his promised land, he struck a treaty[2] with Ham’s descendant Abi Melech (meaning father king). The two-state deal precluded Abram banishing Abi Melech’s living relatives from Azah (Gaza), Hebron (in the West Bank) and Salem (Jerusalem).
After Isaac was born to Abraham (previously Abram) and Sarah, her patience with Hagar, came to an abrupt end, she kicked her and son Ishmael (to Abraham) out of her camp. While Abraham was prepared to negotiate a diplomatic treaty using the land God promised, Sarah was not, she had no intention of complicating Isaac's future right of inheritance any further than Abraham had already done. During the moments Abraham offered his son as a sacrifice (Akeidat Yitzchak - the binding of Isaac) at Mount Moriah, Sarah passed away (aged 127). Abraham traveled back to Hebron where he negotiated to buy back the plot at Machpela to bury his wife. Then Abraham turned his attention to marrying Isaac, making sure his future wife would come from the lineage of Sarah’s family. Isaac was married to Rebecca who filled the tent of her mother in law while Isaac played double down diplomacy, extending his fathers[3] two-state covenant of peace to Abi Melech's future descendants.
Rebecca bore son’s Jacob and Esau and struggled hard to maintain and establish Sarah’s undiplomatic progeny. Jacob left the promised homeland and after 21 years returned from the land of Sarah’s family, where he married his wives Rachel and Leah and established his family and fortune. They first crossed the Jordan and arrived in Shechem (Nablus) where he left his cattle before they continued to Mount Moriah. At the same site of Akeidat Yitzchak Jacob began to fulfill the covenant he made there before he left the Promised Land -"The stone which I have set as a covenant will be the House of God." While attempting to build his House of God, Rebecca passed away, so Jacob abruptly left the site to bury his mother in Hebron, she too was 127. Tragically, on the way his first love, Rachel passed away during the birth of his 13th child Benjamin. Years later his small family of 70 members were exiled to Egypt.
Because of Abraham and Isaac's aberrant two-state covenants on the land, Jacob's promise and covenant to build the House of God is yet to be fulfilled. Two previous attempts to build and maintain temples on the Temple Mount, the worlds most contested real-estate failed. Finally we live in the generations that are capable of realizing Jacob's dream, however the Jewish self inflicted struggle to adopt Sarah’s sovereign view must be rectified. Although Abraham merited a child because he compassionately prayed that Abi Melech should become a father, Jews must not fall victim to the heady utopian passions of Abraham and Isaac. Instead they must follow the doggedly, determined, materialistic visions of Sarah and Rebecca. If Abraham had simply stayed in his land, things would have been different!
The Hebrew year 5800 (2040) is the right time to realize Jacob's vision. I subscribe to a view that the world's most hotly contested real-estate, the Temple Mount may yet hold some surprises. The first two temples may have been built in different places, higher up the mountain, but the right place for the third temple is on the neck of Mount Moriah. However, the focus for now is Sarah’s sovereign view, whether Jews sell out or stick to her program depends on their mindfulness. Jerusalem 5800 proposes and demands it become a World City, one that has been planned during the past seven years by more than 40 consultants. More than 400 pages are planned on the foundation of Israel and Jerusalem City government and the bureaucracy’s existing plans.
The 5800 plan inspires serious questions about a divided or united Jerusalem by which politicians will be blessed or cursed. But, building the city is only a part of a plan that cannot be fully realized until the mental adjustment over Jewish sovereignty is made. Ask yourself, are you ready to uphold the modern context of mother Sarah's sovereign view? What is the context? A modern Jewish nation cannot condone a land that divides its constituents, denies them reasonable representation and optimal economic prosperity, but two-states is still being used to divert Jews and those persuaded by aberrant covenants. Meanwhile poverty in Jerusalem is running at 37% while benefactors feed social injustices for the benefit of their personal brand insurgencies. Economic prosperity is Israel’s most advanced anti-terror weapon, but demand for unskilled labor remains low and must be accelerated. To rebuild we must be serious about the financial sustainability that Israel's ancient Jewish culture provides through major industries like tourism.
Democracy is no friend of Jewish sovereignty especially if Israel extends citizenship to all non-Jews living West of the Jordan River. Therefore, Israel must ensure its Jewish sovereign future ultimately modifying its government structure before it provides non-citizens a resident alien status, a path to citizenship and the vote. The 70 elders that once represented the Jewish community prevailed over a hierarchy of community captains of 1000’s, 100’s, 50’s and 10’s. Israel’s national government still incorporates some equivalence to this framework particularly in elected City Rabbi’s who obtain their status through community synagogues and Mayors of cities nationwide. I believe this framework can be elevated, eventually by a national referendum to establish a bicameral parliamentary equivalent, Israel’s future senate. At such time in the future a senate of elected Rabbi’s can represent Israel’s broadest, Jewish community interest by approving the law’s of the country. Once authoritative, they will obtain the mantle to modify and converge Talmudic law to interpret it consistent with Israel’s state law so that only one body of law governs all citizens and residents of the nation.
As the world around Israel implodes Jews must remain focused on Sarah’s vision, she had it right, one national sovereign, one land! Through her, Rebecca and Jacob’s wives Leah and Rachel, Israel's Jews remain grounded to achieve their collective destiny. Each must find a way to participate, get involved, sharpen and strengthen their views for the home stretch. One way to do that is to sign up and show your support for a unified approach at Jerusalem5800 on Facebook or the web.
[1] Targum Yonathan and Targum Yerushalmi to Bereishit 14:18-20. Talmud Bavli to tractate Nedarim 32b
[2] Pirkey de Rabbi Eliezer 36;
[3] Yalkut Me'am Loez Toldot [484] 26:30-33
